Your bookkeeper records what happened. Your CPA files last year's taxes. Nobody is watching your job margins, WIP, and cash position right now — that's the gap a controller fills. We do it monthly for a fraction of a full-time hire.
No contract · Month-to-month · Construction-only · Direct access to Brian
Now accepting new clients for July 2026 · Limited to 3 new engagements per month so every client gets direct access to Brian · 2 spots remaining
Most contractors have a bookkeeper and a CPA — but neither one is watching job margins, WIP position, and cash flow monthly. That's the controller layer. Without it, problems compound quietly until they're expensive.
Your bookkeeper posts transactions and keeps records clean. But they're not analyzing whether jobs are actually profitable or flagging when a job starts slipping. That's not their role — it's ours.
Your CPA looks at last year's numbers to file taxes. By the time they see a problem it's already happened — and you've already paid for it. They're not reviewing WIP or watching margin fade mid-job.
A controller connects the field to the financials in real time — job by job, month by month. You find out while there's still time to act, not after the job closes and the money is gone.
Every one of these was found while the job was still open — while there was still time to do something about it.
"We were 60% through and thought we were fine. First monthly review flagged labor running 18% over. Adjusted the crew schedule and salvaged most of the margin. Without that call we'd have finished in the red."
"Revenue was up but I kept sweating payroll every two weeks. Turns out two jobs had a significant billing gap. Fixed the billing cycle in week three and it was like a switch flipped on cash flow."
"TI work averaged 4% margin — half of our ground-up jobs. I stopped chasing TI bids and profitability jumped without doing more volume. Never would've seen that pattern without the job type analysis."
There's a financial layer above bookkeeping that most contractors never get. It's what turns raw numbers into decisions you can actually use — while there's still time to act on them.
| Task | Bookkeeper | Builder Ledger |
|---|---|---|
| Record daily transactions | ✔ | — |
| Monthly job profitability | — | ✔ |
| WIP schedule reconciliation | — | ✔ |
| 12-week cash flow forecast | — | ✔ |
| Margin fade alerts | — | ✔ |
| Over/under billing detection | — | ✔ |
| Monthly strategy call | — | ✔ |
Estimated profit and margin on every active job — updated monthly while you still have time to act.
Banker and surety-ready WIP reconciliation — over/under billing on every job, every month.
See cash gaps before they happen — AR aging, payroll, draws, and billing timing in one view.
Flagged the moment a job starts tracking below your target margin. Catch it while you can fix it.
45–60 minutes reviewing everything together. Every finding explained, every decision backed by numbers.
I spent over a decade as a construction controller — inside the books of contractors doing everything from small commercial tenant improvements to nine-figure revenue. I've built WIP schedules for bonding reviews, tracked margins as they faded mid-project, and caught cash crises weeks before they hit.
I started Builder Ledger because I kept seeing the same thing: good contractors — busy, skilled, winning work — quietly losing money on jobs they thought were profitable. Not because they were bad at their trade. Because nobody was watching the numbers between the bookkeeper and the CPA.
When you work with Builder Ledger, you work directly with me. No junior staff. No account managers. You get my personal attention on your jobs every single month.
GC, specialty, mechanical, civil — across every stage from startup to $100M+
Built WIP schedules for surety and bank reviews; managed percentage-of-completion accounting
12-week rolling forecasts, AR aging analysis, and billing cycle management at every stage
Prepared lender and bonding packages; helped contractors improve capacity through accurate financials
We'd rather be upfront than waste your time. Here's an honest look at who gets the most out of Builder Ledger.
A full-time controller costs $130–160K in salary before benefits, recruiting fees, and months of ramp time. Builder Ledger delivers the same financial oversight — productive from month one.
Same financial oversight. A fraction of the cost. Onboarded in 18 days — not 6 months. Starting at $1,500/mo.
Your bookkeeper keeps doing their job. We connect to your existing software and add the controller layer on top — zero workflow changes required.
We review your setup — books, software, active jobs — and tell you honestly what's missing and where you're at risk. Zero obligation.
We connect read-only to your existing software and set up job tracking and WIP templates. Most clients are fully live within 18 days.
Reports, alerts, and a monthly call to review everything together. Better decisions. Margins improve. Cash stops being a mystery.
Not sure which plan fits? The free consultation will tell you exactly which one makes sense for your situation.
Book a free consultation. I'll look at your jobs, your WIP, and your cash position — and tell you honestly what I see. No pitch. No commitment. Just a clear picture of where you actually stand.
Month-to-month · Cancel anytime · $1M–$20M contractors
Free Consultation with Brian
$1M–$20M contractors · Month-to-month